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WCWN will expand 10 p.m. newscast from 10 minutes to a full half hour

By Chris Churchill Business writer

Published
12:00 am EDT, Saturday, October 16, 2010

Outside the CBS6 studios in Niskayuna Friday October 15, 2010. Starting Monday WCWN, the CW Network affiate in the Capital Region, will expand its 10pm newscast from 10 to 30 minutes. The station broadcasts on channel 45 and 15 on cable. (Will Waldron / Times Union) less

Outside the CBS6 studios in Niskayuna Friday October 15, 2010. Starting Monday WCWN, the CW Network affiate in the Capital Region, will expand its 10pm newscast from 10 to 30 minutes. The station broadcasts on ... more

Photo: Will Waldron

Photo: Will Waldron

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Outside the CBS6 studios in Niskayuna Friday October 15, 2010. Starting Monday WCWN, the CW Network affiate in the Capital Region, will expand its 10pm newscast from 10 to 30 minutes. The station broadcasts on channel 45 and 15 on cable. (Will Waldron / Times Union) less

Outside the CBS6 studios in Niskayuna Friday October 15, 2010. Starting Monday WCWN, the CW Network affiate in the Capital Region, will expand its 10pm newscast from 10 to 30 minutes. The station broadcasts on ... more

Photo: Will Waldron

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NISKAYUNA -- WRGB Ch. 6 is expanding the newscast it offers on sister station WCWN from 10 minutes to a full half hour beginning Monday.

By doing so, the CBS affiliate is taking on WXXA Ch. 23, which pioneered 10 p.m. news in the region. And it's offering another news option for viewers who don't want to wait for 11 p.m.

"We want to serve those viewers," said WRGB news director Lisa Jackson. "We understand that people have full lives."

WCWN airs on Ch. 45, although Time Warner Cable puts it on Ch. 15. The new program will be anchored by Dori Marlin and Jerry Gretzinger.

And Jackson said it will not be a duplicate of the newscasts WRGB airs at 6 p.m. or 11 p.m. The content will be original and unique to the market, she said.

"What you won't see is a lot of crime stories," she said. "What you will see is a lot of fast-paced reporting of the news of the day along with a lot of enterprise reporting."

Contributors to the program will include radio personalities Brian Cody and Chrissy Cavotta, along with Greg Dahlmann and Mary Darcy, founders of the All Over Albany website.

WRGB launched its 10-minute newscast on WCWN late in 2008, saying the brevity of the program was an asset that could attract impatient news consumers.

Jackson on Friday called the move a "baby step" leading to the full newscast, which will debut Monday.

Bill Sally, general manager of WXXA, said he isn't surprised by the WRGB decision, adding that he's planning no changes to the WXXA broadcast in response.

"We've found some real success at 10 p.m., and we've been able to run by ourselves there," he said. "We're going to just keeping doing what we're doing. That's what's working."